Giuseppe Funicello

Giuseppe "Joe" Funicello (born 19 April 1987 in Agropoli) is an Italian-American football player, who is currently the head coach of IF Vestri in Iceland.

Giuseppe Funicello
Giuseppe Funicello coaching for IF Vestri
Personal information
Full name Giuseppe Pasquale Funicello
Date of birth (1987-04-19) 19 April 1987
Place of birth Agropoli, Italy
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Defender/Midfielder
Youth career
2005 New York Red Bulls Academy
2006 Salernitana
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007 Brooklyn Knights 2 (0)
2007 Ashford Town (Middlesex)
2008–2009 Corinthian-Casuals 22 (8)
2009 Real Maryland Monarchs 12 (0)
2010 Thor Akureyri 13 (0)
2010–2011 IFK Mariehamn 14 (0)
2011 VPS 0 (0)
2012– Thor Akureyri 24 (1)
2013 FF Jaro 9 (0)
Teams managed
2016 IF Vestri
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 8, 2013

Career

Youth

Funicello grew up in Norwalk, Connecticut, and attended Norwalk High School, where he was local newspaper The Hour's 2004 All-Area MVP.[1] He turned down a chances to play college soccer, instead travelling to Europe to pursue a professional career.

Professional

Funicello played for the youth team at Salernitana in Italy, but was not offered a full professional contract by the team, and returned to the United States to consider his options. He briefly trialled with both the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer and the Atlanta Silverbacks in the USL First Division, and played for the Brooklyn Knights in the USL Premier Development League,[2] before returning to Europe again in the fall of 2007.

Funicello played a handful of games for English team Ashford Town (Middlesex),[3] had a trial with Charlton Athletic, and played some more for Corinthian-Casuals in the Isthmian League Division One South, until being signed by the Real Maryland Monarchs in the USL Second Division in the summer of 2009.

Funicello signed with Icelandic club Thor Akureyri in April 2010, after an extended trial period. He played in 13 games for Thor, before being transferred to IFK Mariehamn.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

Funicello was transferred to IFK Mariehamn on 31 August 2010.[10][11][12]

He signed a one-year extension with IFK Mariehamn after helping them stay in the Veikkausliiga. After a disagreement with current IFK Mariehamn manager Pekka Lyyski, Funicello was transferred to VPS. Funicello expressed his and his teammates horrible relationship with Lyyski. It was the 3rd most read article in Finnish newspaper.[13]

Funicello's time was short lived at VPS as he tore ligaments in his ankle in his first week of training with his new club. Resulting in him missing the rest of the regular season. He went on to sign with his former club Þór in Iceland helping them advance to 2nd round of the UEFA Europa League, and gain promotion back to the Pepsi Deild.

He transferred to FF Jaro on August 31, 2013.

Funicello was named head coach of Icelandic club IF Vestri in February 2016.

Personal life

He spends his time off with his family - mother Maria, father Pasquale, and sister Elvira - back in Norwalk, CT. His family owns an Italian Restaurant in Westport, CT named "Tutti's" (TuttisOnline.com). He is also the founder of a player identification company called SoccerViza (www.SoccerViza.com), assisting players to get identified by professional clubs and scouts.

References
  1. Funicello closing in on a dream Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  3. "Butler bags Hughes ahead of opening game". Non-League Daily. 2007-08-20. Archived from the original on 2012-10-04. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  4. http://www.thorsport.is/thorsport/?D10cID=ReadNews&ID=4534&CI=0
  5. Velkomin á Fótbolta
  6. BB.is - Frétt - Ítali hjá Þórsurum
  7. Breytingar í fótboltanum - Bogi í Njarðvík - mbl.is
  8. http://www.thorsport.is/thorsport/?D10cID=ReadNews&ID=4478&sportID=6&CI=0&backto=sportoverview&groupID=29
  9. Velkomin á Fótbolta Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Giuseppe Funicello IFK Mariehamnin haaviin - Ilta-Sanomat
  11. IFK Mariehamn förstärker : Sök | YLE Nyheter | svenska.yle.fi
  12. IFK Mariehamn bötfälls - Ålandstidningen
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-09-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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